Integral soffit and fascia unit of synthetic plastic



Dec. 10, 1968 ANDERSEN 3,415,019

INTEGRAL SOFFI'I AND FASCIA UNIT OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC Filed March 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MEL Vl/V A. A/VDERSEN 46% u Z 014 fflwr 54 ATTORNEY Dec. 10, 1968 M. A. ANDERSEN 3,415,019

INTEGRAL SOFFIT AND FASCIA UNIT OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC Filed March 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 54 BWZNM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,415,019 INTEGRAL SOFFIT AND FASCIA UNIT OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC Melvin A. Andersen, 303 Hillcrest Drive, Berrien Springs, Mich. 49103 Filed Mar. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 622,296 Claims. (Cl. 52-94) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sofiit and fascia unit formed of rigid synthetic resin with an integral trough between the soffit and fascia portions.

This invention relates to improvements in building construction members, and particularly to a combined soifit and fascia unit.

The application of soifit and fascia members to a building, such as a residence which has a marginal portion of its roof over-hanging or projecting laterally beyond the side walls, requires time-consuming construction practices and operations, and also requires multiple parts which must be handled individually. It is common practice to use plywood panels for soffit construction, but substantial disadvantages accrue therefrom because of the need to paint the same frequently, and the requirement for use of separate fascia members in conjunction therewith and with other parts which render the soffit and fascia construction time-consuming and expensive. Efforts have been made to utilize metal panels at sofiits, the same being provided with a baked enamel finish, but these have been objectionable for various reasons, including high cost of fabrication and assembly, the exposure of nail heads which tend to rust, the tendency of the parts to bend or bow incident to expansion and contraction upon changes of temperature and need to protect inner faces to avoid rusting by condensation, and other disadvantages. Some efforts have been made to use plastic panels as soffits, but these efforts have entailed difliculties because of lack of panel rigidity, difficulty in joining adjacent panels, difficulty in providing vents and the like.

It is the object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages by means of a novel soffit and fascia unit which can be applied easily and quickly, which produces a trim and weather-tight construction, which is attractive in appearance, which can provide venting as required, and which is subject to minimum dimensional variations with variations of temperature.

A further object is to provide a soffit and fascia unit which has a permanent weather-proof attractive surface, which is light in weight, which is easily installed, which is rigid, and which can be cut to desired size and shape easily and quickly.

A further object is to provide a sofiit and fascia unit which can be assembled readily with like coplanar units by means of joint members which are easily applied to span the gaps between adjacent panels, or selected portions thereof, and which can provide gaps at selected points between panels to serve as vents.

A further object is to provide a novel fascia and soffit unit of such construction and configuration as to present an attractive appearance and to direct condensate collected therein to a low level point spaced from the building wall for discharge thereof.

Further objects will be apparent from the following specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the sofiit and fascia unit installed.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the installation of the fascia and sofiit unit.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the portion of the construction in the area encircled at 3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of a solfit at a corner of a building.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a building side wall of any suitable character to which exposed siding or facing material 12 of any suitable type is applied to a level approximating the level of the lower part of an eave plate or subfascia member 14 connecting the ends of roof rafters 16 which are supported by plate 18 at the upper end of the wall structure. The rafters form part of a roof, and carry roof sheathing 20 which supports roofing material or shingles 22.

My improved soffit and fascia unit consists of a prefabricated, unitary, synthetic resin member having a substantially fiat sofiit portion 32, a substantially fiat fascia portion 34 and an angular or inclined portion 36 joining the portions 30 and 32. The member may be of laminated or single thickness construction, and may be extruded or molded. The fascia portion or panel 34 extends in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the sofiit portion or panel 32. The inclined part 36 extends at an acute angle upwardly from the lower margin of the fascia portion to form a through below the level of the outer margin of the soiiit portion 32.

When laminated, member 30 preferably includes an outer lamination 38 of a thin sheet of polyvinyl chloride or any other suitable synthetic resin material having the desired properties of rigidity, smooth surface fiinish, permanent coloration, and weather and sun resistance. Thus, the lamination 38 may be made of the same types of material which are commercially available as building siding material. An inner lamination 40 preferably constitutes a mat of synthetic resin in which fiberglass is imbedded for reinforcement. The mat resin will preferably be a thermo-setting resin having the properties of rigidity, low cost, weather resistance, and capability of adhesion to the outer lamination 38. If desired for rigidity, ribs (not shown) may be molded in the soifit at spaced intervals extending transversely of the soffit. In the preferred form, the laminated structure will be of a thickness in the order of A; inch to inch, although the thickness may be less or greater, if desired. Thus, in some instances, it may be desired to increase the thickness of the inner lamination 40 at the trough portion above portion 36 for the purpose of strengthening the unit. The fascia portion will preferably be of a width in the order of 4 /2 inches to 8 inches, and the overall width of the unit, measured along the width of the soffit portion, may be from 8 inches to 24 inches or more. The material will preferably be made in standard lengths, such as 6, 8 or 12 feet. It will be understood, however, that the dimensions above mentioned are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting inasmuch as the unit can be made in a wide range of dimensions.

The unit is installed by securing the fascia portion 34 to the edge of the roof structure, as at the ends of rafters .16 or at eave plate 14, by securing means such as nails or staples 42. The roof structure will preferably include a conventional metal drip panel 44 which underlies the lower margin of the roofing 22 and is return bent at 46 and has a downturned trim flange 48. The flange 48 overlaps the upper margin of the fascia portion 34. The fascia panel 34 is preferably so positioned that it will extend below the level of the eave plate 14. A cleat, plate or stud 56 is secured to the side wall above the inner margin of the soffit panel 32, and the soffit panel is secured to this cleat or stud 50 by means of nails or staples 52, with its inner edge preferably adjacent to or in contact with the siding 12. The parts are so arranged that the soflit panel 32 will incline downwardly and outwardly toward the trough part 36 at a slight angle, so that any condensate which collects thereon will flow away from building wall 10 and toward trough 36.

The members 30 are mounted end-to-end and are preferably spaced apart at 54, at the soflit portions 32 thereof. They may be similarly spaced at the fascia portions 30, or the edges of the fascia portions 30 may abut as shown in FIG. 2. Joint strips 56, which may be formed of synthetic resin or of aluminum or other metal having an enameled finish, span the gaps between adjacent panels to interconnect the members 30. The joint strips are preferably of H shape in cross-section, having an outer leg portion 60 of desired cross-section shape, such as a crowned shape as illustrated in FIG. 5. Strips 56 also include an inner leg portion 58, and a central web portion 62 extending lengthwise of the strip centrally between the side edges of the legs 58 and 60. The strips 56 provide opposed grooves each of a width substantially equal to the thickness of the portion 32 or 34 of the member 30 which fits therein. Where the joint strips are applied only to soflit panels 32, as seen at FIG. 4, the strips terminate at or adjacent to the trough-forming part 36 so that gaps 54 occur between panels at the trough to provide vents and also provide means through which condensate collected at the trough may drain. The joint strips 56 serve as means to insure register of adjacent panels at their ends and provide a decorative but inconspicuous concealment for the joints. Where the joint strips extend along the entire joint between adjacent members 30, the inner leg portion 60 and web 62 will preferably be cut away adjacent to the part 36 and the bends adjacent thereto, to facilitate the bending of the strip to follow the approximate contour of the members 30 while also providing vent clearance thereat.

The sofiit panels 32 may be mitered at building corners, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The mitering may provide for vent openings at 54 and for contact and abutment of angularly extending fascia portions at the corner. An alternative construction at a building corner is illustrated in FIG. 6, wherein trim joint strips 64 are utilized to interconnect and to span the gap between spaced edges of angularly disposed fascia portions 34. In the construction shown in FIG. 6, an outer angular or L-shaped trim part 66 engages the outer faces of the adjacent angularly disposed fascia panels 34 at the margins thereof, and an inner L-shaped trim part 68 engages the margins of the inner faces of the fascia parts 34. The outer trim part 66 has a pair of longitudinal central inwardly projecting hook flanges 67 adapted to be interposed between the adjacent edges of the fascia panels 34. Longitudinal outwardly projecting hook flanges 69 project from the central portion of the inner L-shaped part 68 and are complementary to and interlock with the hook flanges 67. By this arrangement the inner trim part 68 may be applied at the corner of the building as the fascia strips are secured in place and thereafter the outer trim part 66 may be applied to place by effecting a snap interlock of the hook flanges 67 and 69. This arrangement effectively holds the parts of the corner trim strips 64 assembled and in operative position to present a corner structure of attractive appearance, though not designed to attract attention. The trim joint strips 64 are preferably formed of synthetic resin having sufiicient resilience to accommodate the snap interlock of hook flanges 67, 69.

If desired, corner pieces (not shown) may be formed with fascia portions projecting at two sides of a rectangular soflit portion, so as to eliminate the need to miter units at a building corner. Also, a downturned flange may be formed at the free edge of the soffit to abut the wall and accommodate and receive securing means.

It will be apparent that the use of the described soffit and fascia unit provides an attractive trim for a building which can be installed quickly and at low cost, which is weather resistant, which does not need frequent painting, and which provides venting and drainage of condensate.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A soifit and fascia unit for a building having a roof projecting laterally beyond a side wall, comprising a rigid synthetic resin member having a fascia portion adapted to be secured to the edge of the roof, a soffit portion underlying the projecting portion of said roof and adapted to be secured to the side wall, and an intermediate portion connecting said soflit and fascia portion and extending at an angle thereto so as to define a V-shaped part in combination with said fascia portion, said V-shaped part projecting below said soffit portion.

2. A soffit and fascia unit as defined in claim 1, wherein said member is laminated and has an outer thin lamination having a permanent surface finish and an inner lamination reinforced with imbedded glass fibers.

3. A soffit and fascia system for a building having a roof structure projecting laterally from a side wall and including roofing and a drip panel underlying the outer margin of said roofing had having a downwardly prov jecting part, said side wall mounting a horizontal cleat at approximately the level of the outer edge of said roof structure, the improvement comprising an integral synthetic resin unit having a fascia portion and a sofiit portion, said fascia portion being secured to the outer edge of said roof structure with its upper margin underlying said downwardly projecting drip panel part, said soffit portion being secured to the bottom of said cleat and inclined downwardly and outwardly toward said fascia portion.

4. A soffit and fascia system as defined in claim 3, wherein a portion of said unit between said soflit and fascia portions extends angularly downwardly and outwardly from said soffit portion to define a trough in conjunction with said fascia portion.

5. A sotfit and fascia system as defined in claim 3, wherein a plurality of units are assembled end-to-end with spacing between the sofiit portions of adjacent units, and a joint strip is interposed between and embraces soffit portions of adjacent units, said system having a vent opening between adjacent units at the low level outer margins of said soffit portions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,111,251 3/1938 Spilsbury 52-94 2,688,580 9/1954 Fingerhut 52-309 X 2,896,559 7/1959 Stephens 52-94 3,098,322 7/1963 Greene 52-11 3,204,374 9/ 1965 Hellerson 52-94 3,248,827 5/1966 Hardy 52-97 X 3,303,626 2/1967 Brigham 52-309 X FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

P. C. FA\V, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 52-309, 288, 464 

